1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the method for installing a printer driver and computer-readable medium storing installation program.
2. Description of Related Art
The same printer model is often used worldwide these days. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare printer drivers with specifications suitable for each region of the world because the language, the measuring unit system, and the standard paper size for each region are generally different. For example, a printer driver intended for an English speaking region is necessary to be able to express messages in English on the printer driver screen to display the setup status for printing conditions, while a printer driver intended for a Japanese speaking region is necessary to be able to express messages in Japanese to display the same in Japanese.
In distributing printer drivers intended for various regions, it is desirable to prepare separate recording media such as CD-ROMs and flexible disks (FDs) for each region to store printer driver for each region. However, this requires multiple kinds of CD-ROMs and flexible disks (FDs) to be prepared. It is difficult to use this distribution method because of the higher manufacturing cost. Therefore, what is generally done is to distribute a single CD-ROM storing aim multiple printer drivers prepared for users in various regions in order to reduce the manufacturing cost.
However, this causes a burden on the user to select and install a proper printer driver suitable for the particular region where the printer is used if the CD-ROMs containing multiple kinds of printer drivers are distributed. Consequently, a user who is not familiar with software installation may end up installing a printer driver for a wrong region.
A method for automatic selection and installation of printer drivers is disclosed in the JPA Hei 10 (1998)-181158. The installation method described in this publication automatically judges the computer (CPU) model and the operating system's version and makes a correct selection of the corresponding printer driver to be installed.
However, although the installation method described in the above publication may be able to prevent the user from installing a printer driver for a wrong model, it cannot prevent a printer driver for a wrong region being installed by mistake.